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"My name is Eric F. I live in western Pennsylvania, and here is the story of my '82 XT550. To start with, I had to sell my last dual sport bike about 13 years ago in order to buy an engagement ring for my now wife. It was a great trade that I don't regret at all, but I've always had a goal of getting another at some point when time and money allows. I had some criteria that my next bike had to check to be a good candidate: 1. Had to be a classic bike, preferably from the '80s. Newer bikes perform better, but classic bikes are just cooler. 2. Fixer-upper project. Although I didn't want a complete pile of junk, I like to work on my machines, so I'm not interested in paying top dollar for someone else's complete restoration. 3. Big Bore. I like torque, so the bigger they are the more I'm interested. 4. Titled. I wanted to register it, and in my state, I need the title. So, I've had my eyes out for something that would check all of the boxes above and would also fit in my budget. Just a few days after Christmas in 2025 I was at home on a Saturday evening and I casually opened Facebook Marketplace and at the top of the suggested listings was the ad for this bike, an 82 XT550. Here some pictures from the ad: The description of the bike was pretty vague, but it did say it was a 550 (big bore!), the engine was free, and best of all, it had a title! The price was $250, and it was an hour from my house, so I sent him a message right away saying I could be there the next morning with cash. The seller replied quickly and said that he had someone coming to look at it, and that he would let me know after 10am if it was still available. I told him if the other buyer wasn’t coming until 10 am, I could be there by 7:30 am with cash. He agreed, so I was stoked! I admit I barely slept that night out of excitement, and I showed up the next morning before sunrise with my truck and cash. The story on the bike was that the seller’s father bought it brand new, and had parked it in his shed sometime in the early 90s. His father had recently passed away and he was working on cleaning out his father’s house, who was a legitimate hoarder (his words). He had found the title for the bike earlier that day while clearing junk out of a room, so he figured he’d offer the bike up for sale since he had the title. He didn’t know why it had been parked and partially disassembled at the time. I verified that the engine was free and had excellent compression, so I handed the man $250 and drug the bike out to my truck. Before I got the bike loaded, I asked about the few missing parts (rear axle, seat, right side cover, etc.) and the seller said “You know, that bike has been buried in that shed since my dad put it away. It’s very likely that the parts are still in there…” “Well, do you mind if I look?” I replied. “Go right ahead, but remember that my dad was a hoarder. You’ll have to dig… What followed was 45 minutes of me digging through an 8x8 shed that was literally filled to the rafters with junk, dust, and mouse turds. My reward was finding almost all of the missing parts – original tool case, rear axle with adjusters, taillight housing, right side cover ($$ literally worth the selling price on Ebay), shifter, sprocket cover, and random nuts and bolts. We even discovered why he parked and tore it apart in the first place (see the countershaft sprocket). What I got home was almost an entirely complete titled bike. The only parts that were missing in the end were the seat and the skid plate, both of which were sourced used from a local parts collector. The bike has just over 5100 miles, and to top it off, it was built in January 1982, the same month I was born! It was at this point I started searching for replacement parts to get I back into working order. I had heard about Visionary Cycles from a Youtube video where they were fixing up an old XT500, and I figured I’d look them up to see if they had any parts for my 550. I was able to source a carb rebuild kit, petcock repair kit, decompression and choke cables, O-rings for oil pump, clutch lever, among other things. Some of the parts from Visionary Cycles were no longer available through OEM, like the carb to head boots, and since mine were hard and cracking, I’m not sure how else I could have gotten it running without them. I also installed the KEDO battery eliminator kit, which is way cheaper than a lead acid battery and should far outlast the battery. At this point, I have the bike fully reassembled and back in running condition. It runs perfect, no smoke, and revs up very smoothly. I have been able to ride it around our farm following my kids on their TTRs which is a dream come true really. Future plans are to continue to upgrade the appearance including replacing the decals on the side covers, replace the front fender, repair the tachometer, and replace the rusty muffler and bent handlebar. I also want to get it street legal which will involve replacing the taillight assembly, and getting the turn signals working. So far I really love this bike and I consider it part of my permanent collection. The original paint is still nice enough that I don’t need to fully restore it, so I’ll keep it mostly original as long as I can!"

"Lucky Strike" by Eric F - Kittanning, PA - 1982 YAMAHA XT550